


Duel of Darkness

by SameOldMistakes



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Badass Rey, Ben Solo is a Mess, Canon Compliant, Eventual Smut, F/M, Jedi Ben Solo, Jedi Finn (Star Wars), Pilot Poe Dameron, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Protective Rey (Star Wars), Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey Skywalker, Slow Burn, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, grey order, super slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:48:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23540341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SameOldMistakes/pseuds/SameOldMistakes
Summary: Ben gently stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb, “I don’t want to change the minds of the Resistance or the galaxy. I don’t want millions of people to forgive me or like me for what I did today. I just want one, and I got it.”___Force-sensitive younglings are disappearing across the galaxy. As the United Republic seeks to restore peace, fear and whispers of another dark power permeate across the stars.After surviving the Battle of Exegol, Ben Solo hides away on the Outer Rim until a disturbance in the Force reunites him with Rey. Together, they'll learn more about their Dyad, battle new enemies and investigate the intricate connection between light and dark.
Relationships: Finn & Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Original Female Character(s), Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron & Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 36





	1. Burning Homestead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! I've read fanfiction for over 10 years now, but this is my first attempt taking up the title of writer rather than reader. 
> 
> A few thoughts, disclaimers and ramblings before you begin:
> 
> I love Star Wars - the characters, the soundtrack, all the minutia that fits into this fantastic world created by George Lucas; however, I am not, nor do I pretend to be, an expert in the advanced lore that surrounds this universe. Please be gentle with some of the references, timelines and characterizations that are used throughout this piece. That being said, all constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. :) 
> 
> Second, I am the queen of canon. I always find myself completely drawn to the types of fanfiction that fit neatly and realistically into the characters portrayed in the films. My goal with this piece is to ensure that Rey, Ben, and others are 99% true to the type of people they were in the films. So, I'll say it once, I'll say it twice, maybe three times... SLOW BURN, SLOW BURN, SLOW BURN.
> 
> Enjoy!

**38 ABY**

The air on the Falcon was brisk but stuffy at the same time. Rey loved it. After years of baking under the harsh sun on Jakku, the Millennium Falcon’s cold and recirculated air was a welcome comfort. It felt like home.

Rey stretched her arms above her head from the top bunk in the Falcon’s sleeping quarters and stifled a muffled yawn. Despite the defeat of Emperor Palpatine and the disintegration of the First Order more than three years ago, a soundless sleep was still a rarity for her. Rey still bared both physical and mental scars from the confrontation with her grandfather. The thought of his sinister voice sent a chill down her spine.

In her heart, yes – she was a Skywalker through and through but in her mind, there was an icy sense of negative space. It wasn’t that she was afraid of her heritage; Rey knew that the Resistance was more of a family to her than any bloodline. But what did keep her up at night was the fact that she would never come to know her parents or to feel what it would have been like to grow up as their daughter. She pondered them frequently. How did her mother style her hair? What types of hugs did her father give? What did they do for a living? Why did they decide to name her Rey? These were the questions she was afraid she’d never find answers to.

Shaking the frustrating thoughts out of her mind, she quickly slipped on a pair of worn, leather boots and hopped off the top bunk nearly missing BB-8 as he zipped down the hallway.  
  


“Sorry, friend!” she shouted at his retreating circular figure.

Rey trotted down the corridor of the Falcon until she reached the cockpit. There, sitting in the pilot’s seat, was Poe Dameron pulling the ship out of hyperspace. Next to him, in the copilot’s chair, Finn lounged nonchalantly.

“Oi - you two! Did I not tell you to wake me up before we arrived at Savareen?” said Rey accusingly.

Finn and Poe pivoted in their chairs quickly and mocked an expression of surprise.

“I thought you were going to wake her up?” Poe said pointing at Finn.

“Well I thought you were going to wake her up!” said Finn in agitation.

“You’re her best friend!” said Poe pinning the responsibility back on Finn.

“Well you’re her kriffing boyfriend!” said Finn dramatically.

Rey crossed her arms over her chest with a sigh.

“Why don’t you two take your argument to the holochess table, so Chewie and I can make sure we land with all our limbs in Savareen?” said Rey sarcastically. Chewie echoed her sentiment with a yell from the hallway where he had just appeared from around the corridor.

Rey walked up to Poe and Finn and jabbed with her thumb behind her signaling them to get out of her chair. With a faint sigh and several grumbles, the boys got up and took a backseat behind Rey and Chewie. Rey sat down in the pilot’s chair grabbed the controls and felt a familiar sense of excitement tingle up her arms. She loved flying. Other than holding a lightsaber, it was the most natural feeling to her, and the Falcon held a particularly special place in her heart. She briefly glanced up at the golden dice hanging by the window and felt a brief pang in her chest. Whether it was for the late Han Solo or his son, Rey couldn’t tell.

Resetting her sights on the expansive planet unfolding below her, Rey gazed in admiration at the sandy landmasses and huge oceans across the surface. Savareen was known for its famous brandy drink distilled from seagrapes, but Rey thought it deserved to be known for much more than that. As the Falcon quickly entered the atmosphere, more and more of the planet’s unique features came into view. The enormous bodies of water were a crystalline blue and the sandy land masses bore little resemblance to the emptiness she had experienced on Jakku. The vast desert was prickled with clusters of lush green foliage and hypnotic blue lagoons.

Rey expertly guided the ship down onto Savareen’s Pnakotic Coast. Sand kicked up around the ship in flurries as the Falcon’s slightly rusty exterior pulled to a stop and lowered its ramp. The ship had certainly taken a beating in its lifetime. From lightspeed skipping to the Kessel Run, it was a miracle the Falcon was still intact. However, its aged appearance belied the numerous advanced modifications that Han, Rey and Poe had made to boost the ship’s speed, weapons and shields over the years.

“We’re here,” said Rey excitedly.

“Your landing could use some work,” said Poe jokingly.

Rey rolled her eyes and strode past the other members of her crew until she was standing at the bottom of the ramp – only inches between her and her next mission.

The temperature was warm but humid and caused sweat to bead at the top of her forehead. She was dressed in her familiar white robes that were securely fastened with a leather belt across her waist. Thankfully, Rey’s hair was pulled into her traditional three knots at the back of her head to ensure that a minimal amount of loose hair would end up sticking to her face and neck. One hand was securely placed on the flap of her satchel which contained notes, a commlink and a jug of water. Her most prized possession – the yellow lightsaber created from her staff – was fastened securely at her hip.

Behind her on the ramp, she heard the familiar footsteps of their ragtag crew – Chewie, Finn, Poe and BB-8.

“How about we grab a drink of that famous brandy we’ve heard so much about?” said Finn feeling slightly giddy.

Rey quickly swiveled to face him. “Have you forgotten why we’re here in the first place?” said Rey annoyed. “We’re here by order of the United Republic to investigate the disappearance of a child - a child who just celebrated her eighth birthday only days ago and is now nowhere to be found!”

The crew bristled at her sudden change in mood. They knew that while most of the galaxy was worried about the disappearing children, Rey was taking it harder than most. This was the thirteenth child to vanish in the past year and that only included the children that had been documented and reported to the United Republic.

“Aww come on, Rey,” said Finn apologetically. “You know I was only joking! Although after all this Force training you’ve made me do these past few weeks, I really could use a drink…”

Sensing Rey’s agitation and impatience peaking, Poe clapped Finn on the back saying, “Okay then, how about we get this party rolling!” BB-8 beeped in agreement spinning in tight little circles on the sand.

“Alright,” said Rey shifting her focus and ruffling through her bag. “I have the location of the family’s home here somewhere in my notes.” Rey pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, read her messy notes written in Basic, and lifted her finger to point north just over the horizon. “They live just north of the Sannu village.”

She quickly shoved the notes back into her satchel and began the slow trudge through Savareen’s thick sand.

“Let’s go,” said Rey in anticipation. “There’s no time to waste.”

* * *

The Savareen people wore beautiful cloaks filled with bright colors and beadwork. In contrast, the structure of their buildings was dilapidated, dusty and nearly blended in with the sandy landscape if you gazed from a distance.

The small band of United Republic fighters had only been in the Sannu village for a few minutes before they started to attract attention. Very few off-world travelers visited the Savareen villages unless they were there to exploit the natives and export their resources. This made the locals gaze upon their crew with trepidation and prevented anyone from daring to approach them. Poe and Finn thought this might be for the best, given the luck they had with other natives during their travels, but Rey wasn’t so sure. She worried that she may not be able to convince the missing child’s family to share as much information as possible about what might have happened.

Despite the overall decay of the village, the people looked at peace. It was a pleasant realization for Rey who was finally beginning to see the true payoff of the Resistance’s fight and win over the First Order – even for planets like Savareen in the Outer Rim.

Shuffling past two Akk Dogs carrying a mother, father and several giggling children, the crew eventually stumbled upon a small hut near the north edge of the village.

“Wait here,” said Rey as she turned to the door of the small hut. “Hello? Excuse me, is anyone there?” she asked tentatively. “My name is Rey Skywalker, and I’m here on behalf of the United Republic.”

Rey paused, hoping to hear an answer from within, but was only met with continued silence. Losing her patience, she peeled back the flap of the hut, but it was empty save for some miscellaneous furniture that looked to be covered in a thick layer of grey and white ash. She was about to enter the hut when from behind her right shoulder she heard another humanoid shuffling up to their group.

“Did you say Skywalker?” It was an old, frail woman who looked to be native to Savareen. “And the United Republic?” she questioned.

“Yes!” said Finn. “We’re here looking for a young girl who recently went missing. She goes by the name Nalia.” 

“Do you know where her family is? We’re hoping to speak with them,” chimed in Rey.

The woman shook her head and cast her gaze downward. “I’m afraid her family won’t be any help in this matter,” said the old woman. “The girl you seek, Nalia, has been living alone for many years now. Her parents abandoned her after becoming addicted to spice.”

Rey stiffened. This sounded all too familiar to the first 18 years of her life on Jakku. Falling asleep hungry, struggling to make enough credits for food, waiting and waiting for a family that would never come.

The crew was silent, save for Poe who looked shocked. “How could that be possible? Someone must have reported her missing to the United Republic; otherwise, we wouldn’t be here,” said Poe perplexed.

“It was I who notified the United Republic and called you here,” said the old woman. “Nalia was dear to me. I did my best to watch over her and provide for her whenever I could, but there’s only so much a poor, old woman like me can do,” she paused. “The girl was troubled – deeply, deeply troubled.”

“What do you mean?” asked Finn.

The old woman sighed and took a seat on a nearby crate, but even the sigh that escaped her lips seemed weary and tired. “Nalia used to walk with me in the mornings to fetch water and other goods from the village market,” said the woman as she folded her wrinkly hands in her lap. “She was an excellent helper. Nalia always found a way to make sure that I wasn’t overburdened and happily carried our goods home each day. As a reward, I’d make sure she was fed and sent home to her hut with a rucksack of goods.”

Her eyes twinkled slightly at the fondness of the memory, but the joy vanished almost as quickly as it appeared.

“Several months ago, Nalia and I were on our way home from the market when a thief attempted to rob us of what little goods we had,” said the woman. “He knocked me to the ground and lunged toward Nalia. But before his hand clutched the rucksack, he was thrust violently back, hit the ground and was knocked unconscious.”

Rey’s eyes widened. She could sense where this story was going.

“It was miraculous,” continued the old woman. “But also, terrifying. Nalia was standing still with her small right palm outstretched toward the man lying on the ground. By the time I had gathered my wits and walked over to assess the damage, the thief was dead… hit his head on a rock in the landing and his eyes were gazing up at me cold and lifeless.”

Rather than continuing to meet the eyes of their crew, the old woman cast her eyes downward.

“I managed to pull Nalia away from the scene and get her home before anyone arrived, but she knew what had happened. She knew that she had taken his life,” said the woman with a pained expression on her face. “Can you imagine? Being eight years old and knowing you were responsible for someone’s death?” The woman fell silent for a moment and then continued, “From that point forward, I encouraged her to keep her abilities to herself for her protection and the protection of others. But I’m afraid that may have only made things much, much worse.”

Tears began to well up in the old woman’s eyes and slide down the deep wrinkles in her face. “Sometimes, I’d catch her alone just staring at her hands in silence. Other times, I’d see the confusion, the fear and the loneliness just burning through her eyes seeking someone to give her answers or solace. But what could an old woman like me provide a child with such gifts, such power?”

She lifted her gaze and stared directly at Rey with tears in her eyes.

“It’s not your fault,” said Rey tentatively. “It sounds like Nalia is force-sensitive. She has powers that are difficult to control and even harder to explain.” This wasn’t the first time she had heard a story like this. Rey and her crew had recently investigated disappearances that had a backstory nearly identical to Nalia’s. 12 other disappearances to be exact.

“So, what happened next? When and how did she go missing?” questioned Poe.

The old woman shuffled her robes and hugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders. “Several days ago, Nalia and I walked to the market to pick up our weekly goods,” said the old woman. “I was speaking to one of the seagrape vendors and only had my back turned from her for only a moment, but when I turned back around, she was gone.”

I called out to her and frantically searched through the different vendors until I finally saw her through a crowd. She was speaking with a tall, hooded figure across the courtyard.”

Rey’s breath hitched in her throat. A memory of a tall man in hooded robes walking toward her on Takodana flitted across her memory. Sensing her unease, both Finn and Poe gave her a confused glance.

The woman continued, “I hurried toward her as quickly as possible, but Nalia saw me coming and before I could take another step, my entire body froze. I had no control over my limbs, my head, not even my voice to call out to her.”

The crew listened intently. “Nalia looked into my eyes and at that moment, I knew she was saying goodbye. She turned the corner with the figure, and I haven’t seen her since. That was the last time I saw my Nalia.”

Rey walked forward, knelt down and clasped the old woman’s frail hands on her own. “Thank you for sharing your story. I promise you that we’ll find her,” said Rey. “But before we go, is there anything else you can tell us about that man Nalia was with? Did he say anything you could hear? Did he have any distinct features that would be easy to recognize?” 

Rey unknowingly, tightened her grip on the woman’s hands, afraid of what she might hear next.

“A man?” said the woman in surprise. “I don’t recall saying the figure was a man.”

The old woman shook her head back and forth, “No my dear, this figure was most certainly a woman. A woman with light, red skin.”

Rey mentally sighed in relief. _It wasn’t you_ , she thought.


	2. Binary Sunset

**35 ABY**

Ben Solo could not feel his left leg below the knee. He was certain it must be broken in at least two places, if not worse. From what he could feel, he assumed he was lying on his back with one leg dangling off a ledge. His eyes fluttered open to a hot, sticky substance that was dripping into his right eye and he peered toward the ledge. Yes, he was most definitely dangling at the edge of a seemingly bottomless pit.

The events from moments before his fall came flooding back at once. _Rey._

As quickly as his body would allow, Ben pushed himself to a seated position and began searching for a way up the wall in front of him. After making it to a stand, he began to climb which was seemingly impossible at first due to a recently discovered dislocated shoulder. It was an excruciatingly painful and perilous climb, but slowly Ben was getting closer and closer to the top.

He was making quick progress until suddenly, his heart clenched, his mind went numb, and the force connection he shared with Rey went radio silent. He knew immediately that she was gone. She was dead. He was too late.

For a brief moment, Ben Solo contemplated letting go. Letting go and falling into the pit to end his suffering and end Kylo Ren once and for all. His father, his mother and now Rey were all gone. The only people who ever believed he had a chance at redemption. He had let them all down. He had failed every single one of them.

But that would mean they died for nothing. They would have invested in his redemption only for it to be snuffed out in mere minutes. He couldn’t let that happen – not for his parents and not for Rey. His father had been right; Kylo Ren was dead. He had died when Rey healed him on the wreckage of the Death Star. And even though it would take more than a lifetime to make up for the evil he had personally inflicted on the galaxy, he would spend every day he had left trying to make up for it in honor of their sacrifice.

He began to climb again but even faster now fueled by his grief and determination. Finally, his hand grasped the edge of the pit and he struggled to pull himself over the top. His gaze immediately fell on Rey’s lifeless form. Ben shuffled toward her with his left leg dragging behind him in agony, until ultimately his grief and pain caused him to fall on his hands and knees. He crawled the rest of the way and clutched her limp body to his chest with tears stinging his eyes.

Even in death, Rey captivated him. She had faced a darkness much like his own yet remained nearly perfectly pure and good. He was her opposite, her balance like two sides of the same coin. And in that moment, he knew what must be done.

All the Jedi lived in Ben Solo now. And it was his duty to channel their power to bring her back.

“Be with me,” he whispered as he placed his hand over her abdomen. “Be with me.”

It was something he had heard her whisper a hundred times through their connection, and he knew it was her only chance.

“Be with me,” he repeated with tears streaming down his face. Thick silence hung around him and he choked on his next words, “Be with me.”

Then suddenly a woman’s soft voice met his ears, “We are with you, Ben.” His heart clenched. “Close your eyes. Feel it. The light… it’s always been there. It will guide you.”

His bottom lip began to quiver. He knew that voice. Leia Organa. His mother.

He felt her force presence rest on his shoulder and heard the voices of many other Jedi join his mother’s chant in unison. “We are with you. We are with you. We are with you.” Ben’s heart swelled as he felt the force pulse through his body.

Suddenly, Rey’s hand covered his own and his eyes opened in surprise.

Rey gazed up at Ben Solo with utter confusion. She was dead. Was he dead too? Why did this feel so real? Then it dawned on her. He was alive. She was alive and he had saved her life.

“Ben,” she said with a wide smile.

She grasped his face and kissed him. It was clumsy, joyous and desperate, but they didn’t part for several moments. Finally, Rey pulled away and was met with a genuine smile across Ben’s face.

She looked him over quickly. “You’re hurt,” she said worriedly. “We need to get you to a med bay as soon as possible.”

Ben sighed and searched her eyes, “Rey… you just saved the galaxy. Who cares about a broken bone or two? Besides, we both know I won’t be welcomed into the resistance with the same open arms.”

Rey’s temper flared. “Well damn them! You saved my life, you saved their lives, you helped me save the galaxy! They’re going to have to get over it,” she replied, but even as she said it, she knew it wouldn’t be that simple and tears were starting to well in the corner of her eyes.

“Rey, leave me,” he said. “Go back to the resistance.”

“I can’t do that,” stuttered Rey. “We can change their minds.”

Ben gently stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb, “I don’t want to change the minds of the Resistance or the galaxy. I don’t want millions of people to forgive me or like me for what I did today. I just want one, and I got it.”

The tears spilled over in Rey’s eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, attempting to savor the last few moments as she knew their time was coming to an end. They stayed there for nearly a minute until they were quickly brought back to reality by the destruction of the throne room around them.

“It’s time to go, Rey,” said Ben. “We need to get out of here.”

* * *

Rey stumbled back out to the flat ground outside of Exegol’s pyramid with Ben’s arm slung over her shoulder for support. To the left was his TIE fighter and to the right was Luke’s X-wing.

She gazed upon the ships with wonder. Both her and Ben’s journeys over the past few years were coming to an end. Their destinies had been intertwined since that first moment together on Takadona and now, they were finally saying goodbye.

“Where will you go?” questioned Rey.

“I’ll probably head toward the outer rim, somewhere fewer people might have the chance to recognize me,” replied Ben.

“Yes, but where exactly?” Rey pestered. “What if I need to find you?”

Both Rey and Ben knew what she had meant. _What if I want to find you?_

“It’s safer for both of us if you don’t know, Rey,” replied Ben with concern in his voice.

Her eyes filled with hurt and she looked away from him. “Yes, well, you better take the X-wing,” she said flatly. “You’ll look a lot less suspicious and I can use my Comlink to notify them that it’s me in the TIE fighter.”

He nodded his head in agreeance but kept his gaze downward. He grabbed her hand swiftly and placed Luke’s light saber in it. “I won’t be needing this anymore,” he said.

Without another embrace, Ben began to hobble toward the X-wing. It stung Rey that he wasn’t giving her a proper goodbye, but Ben knew that would only make things more difficult.

She watched him painfully climb into the cock pit and then turned on her heel toward the TIE fighter. Once she was situated, she gazed toward the X-wing and half expected him to already be taking off but instead his eyes were locked on her. He was wearing Luke’s helmet and looked painfully awkward but also innocent. It was the purest form of Ben Solo she had ever seen and she knew she wouldn’t forget this image in all her life.

From across the barren landscape of Exegol, Rey watched as Ben slowly raised his palm to the glass of his X-Wing. _I’ll always be with you._

Rey raised her hand to the glass of her TIE fighter. _No one’s ever really gone._


	3. Cantina Band

**38 ABY**

“So the kidnapper we’ve been looking for has been a woman this whole time??” said Finn after another swig of his seagrape brandy.

The crew had decided to regroup in a small cantina after listening to the old woman’s story about Nalia. The cantina was lively, colorful and loud in comparison to Savareen’s quiet and dusty exterior. Every seat was packed save for a few unoccupied seats at the bar where Rey, Chewie, Finn and Poe had snagged a few. The bartender was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a slight grimace. He didn’t say much other than, “What’ll it be?”

Rey was currently on her second glass of seagrape brandy. She wasn’t a big drinker at least in comparison to Chewie and Poe, so the brandy already began to make her head dizzy and a little giddy. 

After 12 other failed investigations, they had just got the biggest break in the case yet. The perpetrator was indeed a woman.

“Sounds like it,” chimed in Poe. “And by the way she described her skin, she’s a Zeltron woman too.”

Chewie made a low roar of surprise and intrigue.

“Why are you so excited, Chewie?” asked Rey. “What’s so interesting about Zeltrons?”

Poe cleared his throat before swiveling in his stool to face Rey. “Zeltrons have a bit of a reputation, some might say,” started Poe. “They’re known to be,” he cleared his throat again, “highly attractive among many species. And apparently, they have some sort of pheromone business they can use to let’s say ‘encourage’ people to do whatever they want.”

Rey raised her eyebrows and gave Poe a smirk.

He quickly raised his hands in defense, “Look I’ve never even met one, so don’t shoot the messenger,” he said playfully. “Anyway, Jedi are more my type,” he said with a wink.

Rey blushed. Even though she and Poe had been seeing one another for about two years now, she still felt awkward about any public displays of affection.

“Zeltrons haven’t always had it easy though,” said Finn. “When I was with the First Order, I witnessed some pretty terrifying slavery being carried out by the Hutts. Jabba’s old crew had hundreds and thousands under his control that were forced to do his bidding,” continued Finn. “Only a few of them managed to escape with their lives when the First Order came through.”

“What do you mean when the First Order came through?” questioned Rey.

“Well one of the less evil initiatives the First Order was working on was eradicating some of the organized crime across the galaxy,” said Finn with air quotes around ‘less evil.’ “When they attacked the Hutts, many of the Zeltrons were able to escape. The ones who didn’t went down with them.”

Rey contemplated that thought. Less evil. Were there really things that the First Order had done that could be interpreted as freedom and justice for the galaxy? Not when she looked at the bigger picture. This was the same organization that destroyed an entire civilization with a single blast.

“Anyway,” continued Poe. “Zeltrons are a force to be reckoned with, so we should keep our wits about us over the next few weeks," he cautioned. "They are known to have more amplified versions of the feelings around them. So, you know how I beat Finn in holochess last week and he nearly flipped the table? Well, let’s just say if Finn was a Zeltron I’d be lucky to escape with my life.”

Rey chuckled and Finn rolled his eyes.

“So, where to next?” questioned Rey as she polished off her second drink.

“Well, I think we need to bring this new information to the United Republic,” said Finn. “We can head back to Coruscant and see if we can find a common thread between all 13 cases now that we know a Zeltron is somehow involved.”

Poe stood up out of his chair and said, “But for now… I say we dance.” He spun Rey in a full 360-degree circle on her stool and then beckoned her to the dance floor.

“Really? Dancing at a time like this, Poe Dameron?” she mocked in fake anger.

Poe swiveled his hips with his arms behind his head as the cantina band started a new, more upbeat tune. Finn soon joined him with a funky waltz and even Chewie was close behind. Rey sighed and conceded to defeat as she joined hands with both Poe and Chewie until the four of them had created a complete circle and were swinging, swaying and circling with laughter.

Poe caught Rey’s eye after a quick spin and she was locked into his deep brown gaze. Two whole years and Poe Dameron still looked at her with the same intensity, loyalty and love. She faintly wondered if her eyes carried those same emotions. The first night he told her how he felt about her started a lot like this.

* * *

**36 ABY**

  
After burying Luke and Leia’s lightsabers on Tatooine, Rey, Finn, Poe and Chewie picked up work with the United Republic. They had loyally served the new, makeshift republic for almost a year doing odd jobs here and there – finding First Order weapon caches, arresting First Order loyalists and more. The jobs were easy and satisfying but lacked the uncertainty and adventure they were accustomed to. That changed the night of their first mission to Mon Cala.

The United Republic had tasked the crew with eradicating weaponry that had laid dormant on Mon Cala since the time of the One Sith. With the help of some former Resistance fighters, the crew defeated the Sith loyalists and destroyed the weaponry. It was the first time since Exegol that Rey had felt deeply afraid. It was the first time Finn had fought with a lightsaber. And it was the first time since the First Order was in power that she had feared for the lives of those she now called family.

To celebrate the unlikely victory, the crew and the band of former Resistance fighters ended up at a lively Cantina in New Coral City on Mon Cala. The drinks flowed steadily, the laughter circled the room and nearly every person in attendance had a smile plastered across their face.

Rey quickly noticed the attention that Poe garnered in the Cantina. It was the same type of female audience that he attracted both on Coruscant and off-world after they returned home from a mission. Rey thought several factors were working in Poe’s favor. First, he was a great storyteller. He reenacted the mission with such gusto, humor and enthusiasm that it was hard not to get drawn in. Second, he was definitely easy on the eyes. He sat on the bar, overlooking the crowd with his thick dark curls, deep brown eyes and a sly smile.

After his story concluded, Poe caught Rey’s gaze. He always managed to catch her eye from across the room. She immediately blushed innocently but she knew what that look meant. He had made it clear without saying a word what he was thinking and wanting.

He jumped down from the bar and made his way through the crowd until he had reached the table that Rey was now occupying solo.

“Interested in a dance, Skywalker?” said Poe with a smile as he leaned with one arm on her table.

“Not on your life, Dameron,” Rey said playfully.

“What about a walk?” he countered.

“I suppose,” said Rey as she stood from her bar stool. “Though I am pretty tired from saving your skin all day.”

“Ha!” exclaimed Poe. “Without my support from the submersibles, you guys wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“Best you stay in the air then,” said Rey with a chuckle. “Your underwater fighting style could use some work.”

With a laugh from Poe, the two exited the Cantina for a quick walk along New Coral City's many docks.

  
  
As they neared the edge of the floating city, Rey contemplated the vast bluish-white ocean stretching out to the horizon. New Coral City was merely a fraction of the culture and community that teamed below the surface. The Mon Calamari people spent most of their lives below the surface of Mon Cala's ocean and it was a stark reminder that her frame of reference was dramatically different than other species across the galaxy.

Soon the two stumbled upon a pier gliding out into Mon Cala’s glassy ocean where the gigantic moon was floating just above the horizon like a sunset.

“Let’s jump,” said Poe.

“I’m sorry?” said Rey dumbfounded.

“I said let’s jump,” restated Poe.

He began to tear off his shirt revealing a muscular, tan torso underneath. He was just about to start unbuttoning his pants when Rey exclaimed, “Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

“Is there an issue?” replied Poe. He continued unbuttoning his pants until he was in just his boxers standing at the edge of the pier.

Rey was taken aback at his confidence and physique. This was the first time in her life that a man had undressed in front of her, and her mouth ran dry as she scanned over his figure. Her earlier thought now carried a lot more weight – he most definitely was easy on the eyes.

But Rey was feeling nervous and uncertain. This wasn’t how she imagined her first intimate moments with a man, and she wasn’t sure this is the man she was hoping it would be.

“Well don’t just stand there!” said Poe. “Let’s get in!”

Poe ran toward the edge of the dock and jumped in without even a moment’s hesitation. A resounding splash echoed across the silent coastline. Rey stared down at Poe whose hair was now slicked back with ocean water.

“I don't know about this,” said Rey shyly.

“Oh come on!” replied Poe. “It's not even cold!”

Rey eventually gave in to his protests, and tentatively slipped out of her tunic until she was only wrapped in her breast wrap and underwear. Her arms hugged her exposed skin and she tiptoed toward the edge of the dock. Rey waited for a sarcastic joke, but instead, she was only met with silence. She looked down at Poe and realized his mouth was hanging slightly open and his eyes were wide.

“What?!” said Rey.

“Nothing...,” stuttered Poe. “Just get in already, would you?”

Rey closed her eyes, held her breath and then jumped.

The first thing Rey realized when she surfaced was that the water was significantly warmer than she anticipated. The second thing she realized was Poe sweeping her up under the water and feeling light and airy in his arms.

“Not so bad, huh?” said Poe with a smile.

“It beats being surrounded by sand I guess,” said Rey returning his smile.

He drifted them out further into the water where the moon was reflecting like a white halo on the ocean's surface.

“Rey, I think you know what I’m about to say,” he started and then paused to look her in the eyes. “I like you… a lot. And not in the same way I like Finn and Chewie. I more than like you.”

Rey’s heart skipped a beat, but she was at a loss for words. What are you supposed to say to someone who was your friend but now wanted something so much more?

Poe’s eyes were darting between her eyes and her lips, and she had a strong feeling of what he planned to do next. Rey’s first instinct was to dodge him, push him away or swim in the other direction. A kiss was something she had only shared with one other person in the galaxy. And that kiss had meant everything to her. How could she pretend like she and Poe shared the same raw connection that she and Ben once had?

But Ben Solo had left her. He had flown away in his X-Wing to some unknown location in the Outer Rim and left the Resistance behind. Just as she was finally getting the chance to get to know her dyad in the force, he had slipped through her fingers in an instant leaving her feeling like a piece of her was missing entirely. The girl who had felt alone for all those years on Jakku had been a part of someone else the whole time. And just when she'd discovered that precious connection, that incredible oneness, it was ripped away. 

But even if she wanted to chase after Ben and force him back into her life, she couldn't pretend it would be that easy. Not only was there distance between them, but also history. Kylo Ren had committed far too many transgressions to ever make Rey and Ben’s future a viable option.

And here was Poe. Hero of the Resistance. Admired by women across the galaxy. A man who cared for her. Who was she to deny this opportunity to explore their connection any further?

Without responding to his confession, Rey quickly pulled him into a kiss without hesitation. Poe responded quickly by snaking his arm behind her head and deepening the kiss.

It felt different. This was not the same emotional ecstasy that she had felt with Ben. This was far more physical and animalistic, but it felt good none the less. As the kiss increased in intensity, Poe slid his tongue across her lips, begging for entrance. Rey parted her lips slowly allowing him to push deeper into unknown territory. His tongue glided around her teeth and drove deeper into her mouth. Feeling flustered, Rey decided she should join in as well but decided that using tongue felt more like they were fighting a war in each other’s mouths than anything romantic. Each one of them slashing for the upper hand.

Feeling encouraged by her reception, Poe slid his hand to cup her bottom and gripped it hard with eagerness at where things seemed to be going.

Rey immediately pulled away from his kiss. This was all too fast and intimate for her to handle. Poe looked frightened as if he had done something wrong or hurt her in some way.

"Uh.. I'm.. Sorry," said Poe. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Rey carefully squirmed out of his embrace. "It's not...You didn't... Not at all," responded Rey awkwardly. "It's just... this is just a lot and fast. That's all."

Drawing on the force, Rey propelled herself back out of the water and onto the dock. She quickly scooped up her pile of clothes and slid on her boots. Hugging her clothes to her chest, she turned back to Poe and gave him a small smile. 

"I do like you, Poe Dameron," said Rey tentatively.

Leaving him wading in the water just below the dock, Rey quickly darted off behind the nearest building to get dressed and head back toward her friends in the cantina. Her head spun with the realization of what had just transpired. Yes, she liked Poe, but she didn't know if it was the same way she felt about someone else.


	4. The Moisture Farm

**38 ABY**

A pair of long legs stuck out beneath a dusty and dilapidated landspeeder. The speeder looked to be a V-35 which was an inexpensive, older-model ideal for ground transport. Underneath the old, Imperial speeder, someone was tinkering and toying with what seemed to be an engine well-beyond repair, but the mechanic persisted none the less.

The mechanic was hard at work near the edge of a quaint plot of farmland complete with a small, one-room cabin, a mid-size barn full of miscellaneous equipment and a few acres of crops.

Behind the barn, a young Devaronian child slowly crept around the corner and made his way toward the mechanic who was still busy fiddling underneath the engine. The child’s pointed ears swiveled back and forth listening for any slight change in the mechanic’s breath that might indicate he’d been noticed. Sensing no change, the child continued to creep closer and closer until he was merely a few feet away from the speeder and completely out of the mechanic’s line of sight.

The child quietly made his way on top of the speeder until he was just about to make it into the pilot seat when all of a sudden…

“Nice try, kid…” said the mechanic with a knowing smile as he rolled out from beneath the speeder.

The Devaronian child huffed, “Aww, come on! I was this close to getting in that pilot’s seat!” he said as he motioned an inch between his index finger and thumb.

“How do you always catch me, Ben?” he questioned.

Ben Solo sat up from where he had been laying in the dirt and smiling up at the young Devaronian. He dropped his tools and attempted to brush off some of the sand covering his black sweater.

“I can see the future,” Ben said with sarcasm as he stood and helped the child hop down from atop the speeder. “It came to me in a vision, Addi. The whole thing! You creeping around the barn, me catching you before you could steal my speeder, and even this…!”

Ben picked up Addi and tossed him in the air, catching him on the way down. Addi giggled with delight at the weightless feeling in his stomach.

“I don’t believe you, but can we do that again?” laughed Addi.

“I knew you’d say that,” said Ben with a smile as he pointed to his head.

Ben grabbed Addi by the waist and tossed him above the speeder, catching him again on the way down and placing him back on the dirt.

“One of these days you’re going to have to tell me why you’re so good at stuff,” said Addi as he placed his hands on his hips.

“Believe me, Addi. I’m not good at a lot of stuff,” Ben sighed. “Most stuff, actually now that I think about it.”

Addi still wasn’t satisfied with that answer. He looked up at Ben who was more than twice his height with his piercing purple eyes and small horns sticking out of the top of his head.

“What about that time a sabercat was chasing us and you threw him with your mind?!” pestered Addi. “Or that time that you jumped over like three speeders at once?!”

Ben sighed and started walking back toward the cabin with Addi trailing close behind. This was nearly a daily routine for the two of them. Ben working around the barn, Addi getting into trouble, Ben getting Addi out of said trouble, and the two just generally laughing until their sides hurt.

After he left Exegol nearly three years ago, Ben headed straight for the Outer Rim in Luke’s X-Wing – just as he promised Rey he would. Initially, he flitted between Kessel, Rinn and other Outer Rim territories until he met Addi’s family on Lothal. He desperately needed to ditch the X-Wing to maintain his anonymity and make some quick cash to pay for decent accommodations and food.

Addi’s family had been some of the first people who looked upon him with genuine welcome and compassion. When they looked into his eyes, there was no trace of uncertainty, fear or anger. There was no Kylo Ren.

Addi’s family bought the X-Wing and offered to pay a healthy sum in exchange. Ben refused the additional pay and only took the minimum he needed for shelter and food. But Addi’s mother was having none of that, she offered Ben the plot of farmland near the edge of their property in exchange for help around the farm and his mechanical acumen.

Addi who was just 6 years old when they first met had quickly become attached to Ben, and they had been inseparable ever since.

After getting no answer to his questions, Addi continued, “Okay, fine. You don’t have to tell me how you can do all those cool things, but can you at least tell me if your mom and dad were superheroes or something? Is your dad like Obi Won Kenobi, or Luke Skywalker or something?”

Ben froze at the mention of Skywalker. His stomach churned and his heart ached with longing.

Quickly looking to change the subject, he turned to Addi and stared straight into his eyes with a solemn expression.

“Go home, Addi,” said Ben. “I need to get some things done around here, and I can’t do that if you’re going to try and steal my speeder every time I turn my back.”

“Aww, come on Ben!” said Addi exasperatedly. “I promise I won’t ask you any more questions. I just want to play.”

Ben sighed, “We can play tomorrow, but I need to get some work done. Go home, Addi.”

Addi looked crushed at Ben’s dismissal. The young Devaronian hung his head, gazed down at the dirt and kicked a pebble with his foot.

“Okay,” he said with defeat. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ben.”

Ben looked at Addi’s retreating figure with guilt. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the boy around. Addi had been one of the bright spots in a sea of darkness since his departure from Exegol. But Ben couldn’t risk him questioning deeper into his past. It wasn’t safe for him and more importantly, it wasn’t safe for Addi and his family.

As the cabin door swung shut behind him with a clang, Ben’s private thoughts and emotions came swirling back. _Skywalker._ There was only one person left in the galaxy who could claim that name, and it wasn’t him.

* * *

**35 ABY**

After nearly a month of traveling and hiding across the Outer Rim, Ben Solo finally found a temporary home on the planet Lothal. It had been one of the most lonely, guilt-ridden and emotional months of his life. Now that Kylo Ren was dead, all the emotions, thoughts and feelings he had been suppressing for so long came flooding back all at once. Not to mention, Ben had decided the moment he left Exegol that the best thing he could do for Rey and the rest of the galaxy was to close himself off from the force. That tender force connection that he shared with his dyad had been radio silent now for more than four weeks.

One result of his newfound emotions was his inability to sleep. Ben usually found himself waking up well before the sunrise to avoid the nightmares that plagued his dreams.

The dreams never told a complete story and all he could remember were pieces. A hand on his cheek. Screams of innocent villagers. A dark, low voice echoing in laughter. And then he would always wake with sweat coating his brow and his heart nearly hammering out of his chest.

It was these same circumstances that woke him up that morning and spurned him to go for a walk among the fields of grain on his new plot of farmland.

Lothal’s golden sunbeams crept above the horizon and lit the fields of wheat with a heavenly orange glow. Ben reached out and with a tender motion, touched the tassels of wheat and let the plant run across his hand. Eerie light filtered around him as he stood with the morning sun on his face. This was peace. This was balance. This was everything he did not deserve, yet the sacrifices of those closest to him had given him this, nonetheless.

Ben’s mind drifted to his dyad as it often did when he couldn’t find a way to occupy his thoughts. _Rey._ The bond between them swelled with emotion at the mere thought of her face. Abandoning all reason and sensibility, Ben couldn’t resist opening that connection for a brief moment just to know that she was safe and happy.

The bond cracked wide open and the sound around him sucked into thin air like a vacuum. And there she was. Standing right in front of him with her white robes billowing in the wind. Their eyes met and Ben lost his breath.

* * *

Rey stood on the edge of the dunes of Tatooine and watched the binary sunset settle down over the horizon. Her heart swelled. She was a _Skywalker._ She may not know who her real parents were, but the family she needed was there when she needed them the most - Finn, Poe, Chewie, the Resistance, Luke, Leia… Ben.

Almost as if his name was the key to unlock their connection, the bond flooded with life and emotion. Suddenly, everything was silent save for a ragged breath that filled her mind. And then he was there. Standing just a few yards in front of her. He wore a black long sleeve sweater baggy and frayed at its edges. His face looked years younger as if the death of Kylo Ren had given him back years on his life. And his eyes… his eyes were full of gratitude and pure joy at the sight of her.

She resisted the temptation to run straight toward him, wrap her arms around his neck and hold his face in her hands. Ben Solo had reopened their connection, but that didn’t mean he was ready for Rey to invade his personal space and bombard him with questions.

“Rey,” he nearly whispered.

A smile crept onto her face at hearing her name fall from his lips.

“Ben,” she responded.

He hadn’t left his position where he was standing a few yards away. “I just wanted to… make sure you were safe and…”

“And?” Rey questioned him further.

“And it sounds like you are,” he finished.

Disappointment crept into her thoughts. He wasn’t coming back to her. This was a mere check-in to see if she was still breathing.

* * *

Ben sensed her shift in mood, perhaps she wasn’t nearly excited to see him as he’d initially thought. Perhaps she’d remembered that he was Kylo Ren and there was no amount of sacrifice that would change that fact.

“Well, you’ve got your answer I suppose,” said Rey in a quiet voice. “When’s the next time you’re planning to pop back into my life? Days, months, years?”

It wasn’t so much her words that stung him, as much as her emotions. She was hurting. To be more accurate, he had hurt her. This was exactly why he couldn’t keep appearing in her life at random and why he had closed himself off from the force in the first place.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have just shown up like this. It’s inconsiderate. I shouldn’t be here.”

Ben was about to snap the connection shut when Rey said, “Wait.”

She paused for several seconds before continuing, “I didn’t mean to get cross with you. I just… I feel like I’ve been searching for this missing piece my whole life.”

Rey pointed to her heart, “Don’t you feel it? When we’re together, we feel unstoppable, we feel balanced, we feel like one. And just when we’ve finally forged this incredible bond, it’s being ripped away.”

“Of course I’ve felt it, Rey!” he raised his voice slightly. “I’ve never felt anything like this in my entire life.”

She looked taken aback by the fervor of his response.

“But I was Kylo Ren. I was a murderer, I was pure evil. How can I pretend to have this bond with you, when I have inflicted insurmountable pain and suffering across the galaxy?”

He continued in a softer tone, “I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for the darkness that plagued my life for the past ten years,” he paused. “And you can’t be a part of that.”

Kylo watched as tears began to prick her eyes.

“I see,” she managed to say as her throat constricted. “So that’s it then?”

He felt defeated and guilty at the sight of Rey’s anguish.

“You deserve more than what I can offer,” he said. “Goodbye, Rey.”

He closed his eyes and waited for a response, but nothing came. Deciding that she was done with him, he turned and began to walk away and close his connection to the force.

“It’s Rey Skywalker, now,” she shouted at his retreating figure. “That’s the family I chose.”

Without turning back around, Ben said, “That’s the family you deserve. Goodbye, Rey Skywalker.”

The bond snapped shut.


	5. The Droid Invasion

** 38 ABY **

Ben awoke with hot, sticky perspiration coating his brow and felt his sheets soaked in sweat. What was left of his blanket was crumpled up on the floor in a heap at the foot of his bed, a testament to the restless and tormenting sleep he’d had the night before. He dragged a hand over his forehead and slicked his long locks back against the top of his head, coming to rest with his right hand behind his head on the pillow.

Attempting to decipher the terrifying events in his dreams the night before, Ben stared blankly up at the ceiling of the small, wood cabin.

Last night’s dream was different. Normally, they were filled with visions of Kylo Ren, Snoke, the death of innocents, and all his past transgressions when he was a slave to the dark side. But he didn’t recognize last night’s nightmare.

The dream began with Ben standing in an empty, ruined throne room with what looked like snow falling from the sky. However, the room was hot, and alight in an orange glow that reflected off the black, glossy interior.

Suddenly, the air felt like it was sucked from the room, and an agonized voice whispered just behind Ben’s right shoulder.

“You were the chosen one!” said the voice.

Ben swiveled his body reaching for his lightsaber, but when he turned, no one was there.

This time, the voice whispered from the opposite side of the room.

“It was said that you would destroy the Sith not join them!”

Ben turned again searching for the invisible intruder, but from another point in the room, the voice spoke again.

“Bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness!”

Ben’s breathing quickened and his chest began to heave with the force it took to remain calm. Then abruptly, a different voice entered the throne room. This voice he recognized immediately.

“It’s too late,” said the voice.

Ben couldn’t muster the willpower to turn around. Tears began to prick at the corner of his eyes and a lump formed in his throat.

“I’m being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain.”

Then, a new voice entered the throne room. He knew this voice well.

“Don’t be afraid of who you are,” whispered the voice darkly.

Ben turned at the sound of Rey’s voice, a sound that he had been dreaming of nightly for over a year. But when he turned, he immediately knew this wasn’t his Rey.

A hooded figure materialized and whipped her lightsaber forward, seeking a killing blow. Ben ignited and raised his blue lightsaber within a split second. Their blades clashed, and Ben realized behind the sparks that Rey’s eyes were colored a bright yellow.

He was losing his advantage. The dark Rey doubled down her force and Ben was using all the energy left in his limbs to push back against her power. Dark Rey dropped one hand giving him a slight advantage, and just as Ben thought he might be able to push her off, she ignited a hidden lightsaber beneath her cloak piercing him and leaving a mortal wound through his abdomen. He recognized the blade. It was Kylo Ren’s.

The dark visage whispered, “Monster.”

* * *

Despite diving headfirst into his latest project, fixing up the barn, Ben could not shake the dream from the night before. Something felt off. He was worried about Rey.

How was she coping with the realization that her origins stemmed from evil? Yes, she had adopted the name of Skywalker, but had she internally healed from the fear and anxiety of sharing the same blood as Darth Sidious?

He earnestly hoped that she was not feeling ashamed of any part of herself. He was there in her darkest moment when she did what Luke had only been tempted to do: she stabbed him when his defenses were down. And yet, that one terrible act did not destroy her indefinitely. That act didn’t turn her to the dark side as both the Jedi and the Sith insisted would happen. Despite her actions and origins, Rey was able to drawback to her true, generous self.

Ben hammered a nail with excessive force into the roof of the barn as the sun-baked his fair shirtless skin.

Shame washed over him in waves, as it often did when he thought about the past. How had he failed everyone in his life so drastically? Channeling his frustrations, Ben worked harder and faster than before.

After a few more hours, he finished up the remaining repairs on the roof. Sensing that no one was around, he decided to jump off the roof, rather than using the makeshift ladder. His boots landed in the dirt below with a resounding thud. Ben snagged a towel off the railing of his cabin, wiped his face of sweat and started to head inside.

He had just opened the door to his small bedroom when he sensed a crippling fear and terror tugging at him from the other side of the closed-off bond. Since the events of Exegol, he had not felt Rey’s fear at this level.

Instantly, he opened their force bond and the sound was sucked out of the room all at once.

As if she appeared out of thin air, Rey sat up in his bed with the covers drawn up to her chest. Her brown hair was mussed up and sticking up every which way, and her eyes were staring back at him filled with terror.

* * *

Rey’s eyes softened when she realized it was Ben standing across from her on the other side of her small bedroom. At the sight of him, she felt relief surge through her. This was the first time she’d laid eyes on him since he had walked away from her on Tatooine nearly two years ago. And while he had eased her terror, it did nothing to slow the rapid pace of her heart rate.

He looked good. So wonderfully, good. His dark hair still hung around his ears. His ceramic skin looked like it had a slight sunburn on his shoulders. And his chocolate brown eyes bore deep into hers while his brows knitted with concern. And he was shirtless. Looking just as breathtaking as he had during one of their first connections when she was on Ahch-To. Rey resisted the urge to let her eyes wander over his muscular torso and gaze upon the veins that pulsed out of his arms as his hands balled into tight fists at his sides.

She barely had enough time to drink in the sight of him and register her emotions before he spoke.

“What is it, Rey?” he questioned. “You’re afraid. I can feel it.”

Had he not closed the connection entirely? Rey was unsure how he’d still been able to sense her fear when he had closed himself off from the force. There was still so much about their dyad that neither of them understood.

“I… I don’t know,” she contemplated whether or not she wanted to give him the details of her nightmare. “It was a voice. It’s nothing. A nightmare.”

Her voice was barely a whisper as she was afraid she might wake Poe who was sleeping soundly next to her, but that answer didn’t satisfy Ben.

“Are you sure it was just a nightmare?” Ben asked taking a small step closer. “Or was this something else?”

Concern washed over his features, and at that moment, she felt like there was no one else on the planet who would understand the terrifying dream that she had just experienced.

The dream began like many others. She was standing in the vast expanse of rolling sand on Jakku. But this time, the wind was particularly violent and whipped sand against her exposed arms and face. Rey attempted to hold back the sand with her arm, but the sand just became more and more aggressive. The pain in her eyes became so severe that she was forced to shut them entirely, plunging her vision into darkness. As if on cue, the wind and sand subsided until there was nothing but a light breeze. Rey slowly opened her eyes but there was no light, no vision, no anything. Her eyes were open, but she could only see pure darkness.

“Rey,” whispered a man’s voice. “I told you I’d come back for you, sweetheart.” 

Her heart jumped to her throat. She remembered that voice as if a veil had been lifted from her mind.

“Dad?” she whispered.

“You must find me, Rey,” he continued. “Please come find me, before it’s too late.”

“Dad!” Rey nearly shrieked. “I can’t see anything. Where are you? How can I find you?!”

“You must embrace who you are,” whispered her father. “Do not suppress your fear and your anger. Those emotions will lead you to me.”

“What do you mean? How will that help me find you?” questioned Rey with tears welling in her eyes.

In the darkness, there was now only silence.

“Dad?! Can you hear me?! Where are you?” Rey was screaming at the top of her lungs, tears pouring out of her eyes.

The sand beneath her feet began to shift until she was standing on solid ground and the heat of the Jakku desert disappeared, only to be replaced with the cool air of what she assumed was some sort of ship. Suddenly, her vision was restored, and the light blinded her sensitive eyes.

A series of memories flashed all around her: entering the room where she encountered Dark Rey for the first time, Kylo Ren clutching the Wayfinder and crushing it in his palm, Rey maneuvering through the red atmosphere of Exegol in Luke’s X-Wing. And then, she awoke with a start sitting up in bed to find Ben Solo standing across her room.

“I think… I think my father…” she started, but then Poe was grabbing her arm.

“Are you okay?” he questioned sleepily. “What’s going on?”

Rey froze, unsure of which man in the room she should be speaking to at the moment.

She turned to Poe and whispered, “Everything’s fine, Poe. Go back to sleep.”

When she looked up, Ben was wearing a pained expression and had turned his head away as if to give them some privacy. “I should be going,” he said turning away from her.

She wanted desperately to cry out to him, to tell him all the details of her nightmare and to discuss what it could mean, but she bit her lip and simply stared at him as he turned his back. She blinked once and he was gone.

* * *

Ben slammed the front door of his cabin and walked across his small property kicking up sand with his boots. He shoved his hands into his pockets and gazed out across the fields.

Of course Rey was with Dameron. What did he expect? For her to remain emotionally tied to him for the rest of her life when he was hidden away in the Outer Rim? It was ridiculous. He shouldn’t be angry or upset with her for finding someone to share her life with.

And how did he feel about Rey anyway? It was complicated and often a subject he tried to not dwell on too often. She was so pure, fierce and strong at the same time. She excelled in every aspect of her life and he paled in comparison. Ben Solo, redeemed or not, didn’t hold a candle to her light.

Ben’s heart ached. Not out of jealousy, but more out of the missed opportunity. Had he not let Sidious and Snoke ensnare his mind in the dark side, who knows what Rey and he could have had? He briefly wondered if it would ever end – the wanting her. He wanted to be near her, to talk to her, to touch her. Even though he had just been in her presence, he wanted her so much his chest felt tight.

“Ben!” shouted Addi from the edge of the fields.

The boy sprinted toward Ben at full speed. The sound and sight of Addi was a welcome reprieve from his self-imposed misery.

“Right on time, kid!” said Ben with a warm smile. “Just finished up work and was about to go for a spin in the speeder.”

“Yes!” exclaimed Addi. “Let’s go even faster than last time!”

“I’ll think about it,” said Ben as he walked toward the barn.

Swinging open the door of the barn, Ben snagged a small helmet from a dusty shelf and tossed it to Addi. With remarkable dexterity, Addi jumped, caught the helmet mid-air and rolled toward Ben’s feet. This wasn’t the first time, Addi had showcased exceptional physical aptitude. In fact, the last time Ben and Addi had ridden in the speeder, he’s fairly certain Addi had propelled the speeder faster with the force.

Ben had long suspected that Addi may be force sensitive. From what he remembered, force sensitivity occurred at a much higher rate among Davaronians than it did among other species. He’d always been able to feel Addi’s emotions more intensely than others around him. And the way Addi’s mother had so quickly encouraged Ben to become Addi’s friend and mentor, he had a suspicion that his family knew Ben may be force sensitive as well.

The pair hopped into the newly repaired land speeder, and Addi brought his helmet down over his head. Ben had carved out two small holes in the top to accommodate his growing horns. Snagging the keys from his pocket, Ben started the ignition and put the speeder in drive. Instantly, they were off at an alarmingly quick rate that would have scared most people, but not Ben and Addi. They loved flying together. And before they knew it, Ben was bobbing and weaving the speeder between the endless rows of grain.

After nearly an hour of flying, Ben pulled the speeder to a stop back in front of the barn.

“Aww, come on!” said Addi exasperated. “We just started!”

Ben turned off the ignition and hopped out of the speeder, walking to the passenger side to help Addi out of the vehicle. But Addi didn’t budge.

“Please, Ben! Just one more ride!” said Addi.

Ben placed one elbow up on the side of the speeder.

“The sun’s nearly setting, and you know how your mom gets if you’re late to dinner,” explained Ben.

“Can I please just do one lap around the field?” begged Addi.

Ben had let Addi drive the speeder numerous times before, but never without him in the passenger seat. Addi gazed upon Ben with hurt in his eyes.

“Pleassseeee,” he said.

“Fine,” conceded Ben. “But ONE lap. You circle once around the field and then you’re back right here, and we go straight to dinner.”

“Yes!” Addi exclaimed throwing his hands in the air.

Ben handed him the keys and checked the security of his seat harness.

“And remember, be smooth. Jerky movements on the steering wheel will throw you off course,” coached Ben.

“I remember, I remember,” said Addi excitedly.

“You’ll do great,” said Ben with a smile.

Ben stepped away from the speeder and watched with pride as Addi started the ignition. He cruised past Ben and positioned the speeder right at the edge of the field. Addi turned around and gave Ben a thumbs up and then zipped off in-between the fields of grain nearly eight feet in height. The speeder disappeared and Ben listened intently.

“Yeahhh!!!!” Addi’s screech of pure excitement echoed across the field.

Ben chuckled at the child’s uncaged joy. He might not have a family anymore, but Addi at this moment was everything he needed. It was like Addi was giving him a second chance at childhood – one that wasn’t a constant push and pull between light and dark.

Circling the field shouldn’t take more than four minutes, so when the fourth minute ticked closer and there was no sound of the speeder’s clunky engine, Ben started to feel concerned. Was the kid taking the speeder for a joy ride? No, Addi would never blatantly disregard Ben’s rules, especially when he had allowed him to do his very first solo ride.

Ben’s heart started to hammer with fear and dread. Without a second thought, he took off running down the narrow path between the rows of grain. The path weaved between the fields of grain that stretched all the way to the horizon.

“Addi!” Ben shouted as he ran. “Addi! Where are you?”

There was only silence. Then suddenly, “Ben! Ben, help!”

As if his heart wasn’t racing fast enough, Ben doubled his pace down the narrow field. He let the force course through him to propel his speed even faster.

“Addi! I’m coming! Just stay where you are!”

Dry grain whipped against his sweater, pants and face as he pushed deeper into the field and closer to the sound of Addi’s voice.

Ben was frantic and moving quicker than he had in his entire life. Finally, he rounded a corner in the path and found the speeder hovering with the engine running but the boy was nowhere in sight.

Then Addi screamed. It rose to an ear-stabbing shriek, wavered, and then suddenly went quiet. There were thrashing sounds – maybe panic, maybe the sounds of a struggle. Ben bolted in that direction, terrified of what he might find.

He turned another corner, and then he saw him. Addi was unconscious in the arms of a hooded black figure who had just jumped onto what looked like a Sith Speeder nearly 50 yards away from him.

“Addi!!” Ben screamed.

The hooded figure swiveled their head at the sound of his voice, and then bolted off on the speeder in the opposite direction. Where there was pure joy only moments ago, Ben’s mind was now consumed with terror. It flowed into pure hot power. He reached out with the Force, imagined himself grabbing the speeder just as he and Rey had played tug-of-war with the transport on Pasana.

The transport jerked to a halt, nearly throwing its passengers from the vehicle. The hooded figure reached toward the back of their speeder, unhinging what looked to be a giant metal box. The box rolled to the ground and a massive battle droid from the Clone Wars era unfolded and immediately started firing at him. Ben ducked, weaved and used the force to halt the droid’s blaster fire. To his right, fire licked across the field as a result of the blaster fire and before he knew it, the entire field was engulfed in flames.

Heat, smoke and fire encircled his vision and through the flames, the figure pushed back the hood of their cloak revealing a woman with dark red hair, light red skin and piercing black eyes.

Sirka.

Ben was momentarily frozen at the sight of her and the blood drained from his face. Despite being nearly 100 yards away from him now, he felt her eyes bore straight into his.

Regaining his composure, he used the force to lift the battle droid in the air and tear him in half. Sparks and metal shrieked as the droid was flung into the field. But when Ben looked back up to search for the speeder, it was gone.

“Addi!”

Knowing his feet wouldn’t be fast enough, Ben doubled back to the abandoned speeder Addi had left behind. He jumped into the driver’s seat and took off at full speed in the direction he had last seen them traveling.

Nearing the edge of the field, Ben could finally see across the grassy plains where a TIE Defender was lifting into view, its drive thrusters already glowing blue. And before he could get close enough to summon the force, it was gone.


	6. Sirka's Theme

Chapter 6 | Sirka's Theme

Inside the old, dusty TIE Defender, the hooded figure discarded her long, black cloak, throwing it across the ship until it hit a wall and crumpled in a heap on the floor. Her dark, red hair unfurled down her back and her light red skin grew a deeper shade of red with every passing second. As her skin darkened, the outline of thin scars across her back stood out in stark contrast. She was beautiful by most standards. Her hair hung in thick, loose curls and framed a delicate face with eyes so dark they nearly looked black. She had a shapely athletic figure that was toned due to immense physical training.

Sirka exhaled deeply and looked at her hands, slowly turning them over to examine them. They were shaking uncontrollably. Ashamed of her weakness, she quickly balled them into fists at her side and went to check on the sleeping youngling. The child was laying on a small makeshift bed toward the back of the ship, still unconscious from her using the force to knock him out.

How could she have been so foolish? Of all times to risk the capture of the Davaronian youngling, she had waited until HE happened to be waiting just at the edge of the field? But of course it made sense; foolishness and futile resistance were probably the two best terms to describe her interactions with Kylo Ren.

Five days ago, Sirka landed on the planet of Lothal following her master’s latest lead on another force-sensitive youngling. The dark side still had numerous connections across the galaxy despite the disintegration of the First Order, and a disgruntled shop owner had slipped some information on some suspicious behavior from a child named Addi.

Sirka had monitored the child’s family every night as they ate dinner, prepared for bed and slept in their modest home nestled in Lothal’s farmland. Hidden among the fields, she was masked in darkness and remained completely undetected as she mastered their nightly routine and activity patterns. Just when she had decided tonight was the night, she caught a few interesting words slip from Addi’s mouth as he talked with his parents over dinner.

“Do you think Ben could be a Jedi?” questioned Addi.

Her breath immediately caught in her throat and her spine stiffened. She hadn’t heard the name Ben in years and it certainly wasn’t a common name that just popped into conversation.

Addi’s parents dismissed his question and asked him to promise them that he wouldn’t bug Ben about it the next day when he went to visit.

Tomorrow. Addi was going to see this Ben individual – tomorrow. Sirka couldn’t resist. She needed to dismiss her suspicions. Kylo Ren was supposed to be dead and in all likelihood, that was the truth. But a small tug in the force told her she needed to tie up this loose end and investigate this Ben fellow to squash the flicker of hope that started to burn in her chest.

Well that certainly hadn’t gone according to plan. 

She followed Addi to a small plot of farmland at the edge of the property and the second she laid eyes on the man named Ben, her stomach twisted into all sorts of knots and her brain quit functioning. Kylo Ren was alive and hiding out on a farm in the middle of the Outer Rim.

She should have waited. Master would have told her to wait. But the sight of his thick dark hair, the sound of his voice – did he sound happy? Who was this man and what had he done with Kylo? The second the child took off into the field alone, she followed without a second thought.

It was quick work. The child resisted but was no match for her strength in the force. With minimal effort she slung the child over her shoulder and straddled the speeder. She could have disappeared in an instant; however, if she was being honest with herself, she lingered just a few extra seconds. She didn’t just want to see him; she wanted him to see her. She wanted him to look in her eyes – and what? Remember the time they shared together? Drop everything and fly away with her? No, she wasn’t an idiot. There had to be a reason he was in hiding and had closed himself off from the force. But she did want him to feel something for her and the relationship they had once shared.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Sirka banished all thoughts of Kylo.

She glanced back over at the youngling. Noticing that he was likely cold due to the ship’s air system, she snagged her cloak from the floor and laid it gently over the little boy. As she tugged the blanked up over his shoulders, she noticed the resemblance in their skin color - both varying shades of deep red.


End file.
